In the 1987 film "Lethal Weapon," Mel Gibson plays reckless LAPD sergeant Martin Riggs. Riggs is a volatile former Special Forces soldier coping with the recent death of his wife when he is assigned to work with veteran homicide sergeant Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover.
The partnership drives the film's story. Riggs brings daring, unpredictability, and combat experience, while Murtaugh is cautious, family-oriented, and increasingly frustrated by his partner's dangerous behavior. Their investigation begins with the apparent suicide of a young woman and expands into a drug-trafficking conspiracy.
Richard Donner directed the film from a screenplay by Shane Black. Although marketed as an action movie, its emotional core is the gradual friendship between two very different officers. The film's success produced three sequels, with Gibson and Glover returning as Riggs and Murtaugh through "Lethal Weapon 4" in 1998.
A frequent mistake is assigning Riggs to Glover, because Murtaugh is the other equally prominent lead. Gibson played Riggs in all four original films; Clayne Crawford later portrayed the character in the television adaptation.